UPDATE: DeSoto baby back with parents after Texas CPS took her away in treatment dispute
Mila Jackson is back with her parents Temecia, 38, and Rodney Jackson, 37. The days-old baby was taken March 28 by Child Protective Services from the DeSoto couple after a dispute on how to treat jaundice.
A court hearing that was scheduled Thursday was canceled. The district attorney’s office signed off on the reunification, but declined to comment, according to a Dallas Morning News report.
A rally at The Afiya Center planned for today was also canceled.
“Mila isn’t the first Black baby to be unjustly ripped away from her family, and she won’t be the last one — unless fundamental changes are made to the child welfare and criminal justice systems,” birth justice coordinator at The Afiya Center D’Andra Willis wrote in a press release. “We need people to understand reproductive justice and freedom also means families have a right to choose when and how they want to parent. This includes informed decision making, culturally sensitive care and choosing birth and postpartum support plans that meet their specific needs.”
Why CPS took the DeSoto baby away
Mila was born at home with the help of a midwife on March 21. Six days later, the Jacksons took their infant to the doctor because they suspected the “slight yellowing in the baby” might be jaundice.
“While at the pediatrician we were told the levels are high and they will test blood and follow up,” Temecia, the mother, wrote in an email. “They followed up and said we need to admit baby into the hospital for light therapy immediately.”
The Jacksons said they wanted to do the therapy at home because they did not want their baby admitted to the hospital.
In the meantime, Dr. Anand Bhatt tried reaching out to the family. The Baylor Scott & White doctor wanted to tell the Jacksons their daughter, Mila, had jaundice with dangerously high levels of bilirubin — a yellowish substance made during the body’s normal process of breaking down old red blood cells — according to a WFAA report.
High levels of bilirubin can place infants at risk of brain damage, particularly in the presence of certain risk factors for severe jaundice, according to the Mayo Clinic. Infant jaundice usually occurs because a baby’s liver isn’t mature enough to get rid of bilirubin in the bloodstream.
According to the WFAA report, Dr. Bhatt told CPS, “I filed a case report with CPS after trying 10 attempts to appeal to the family through phone calls, text messages and leaving voicemails as they did not pick up the phone.”
Temecia disputes the doctor’s assertion. “We followed up to let him know we will complete light care independently at home,” she told the Star-Telegram.
But in a statement, CPS agreed with the doctor. “Due to the parents being unwilling to discuss the danger and potential consequences of this condition, it is necessary for the Department to intervene.”